Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) does not plan on running for re-election in 2022, two people with knowledge of the matter told The Philadelphia Inquirer on Sunday.
Toomey, 58, is expected to make a formal announcement on Monday. He is now serving his second term, and won both of his Senate races by narrow margins.
Toomey is the only Republican holding statewide office in Pennsylvania other than judges, and there was talk he might run for governor in 2022, but he's also decided against that, the Inquirer reports. Toomey's office would not confirm or deny the Inquirer's report.
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Charlie Gerow, a Republican consultant in Harrisburg, told the Inquirer that Toomey's decision is "incredibly surprising. It throws dozens of wild cards into the mix." With Toomey out of the running, future GOP Senate and gubernatorial primaries will be "a free for all," Gerow said, with "dozens of candidates emerging from the political and business communities. Half the legislature's going to want to run."
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